Credit: Gallery Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC
(Editor’s note: TIME reached out to former President Trump for a response to the description of events in this piece and did not receive a reply.)
When my uncle was elected President, I recognized what a highly privileged position I would be in. I would have some access to the White House. And as long as that was true, I wanted to make sure I used that access for something positive. I was eager to champion something my wife, Lisa, and I were deeply passionate about, something we lived every day: the challenges for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
Our son William, our third child, was born on June 30, 1999. Within 24 hours, he went from seemingly healthy to fighting for his life in the NICU. Raising him was different from the start. William was diagnosed at three months with infantile spasms, a rare seizure disorder which in William’s case altered his […]
Living requires constant triage. We must make decisions as to what is hopeless, what can be done, and what can wait for the moment because it must. At the same time, our emotions often demand alternative solutions. For example, we can care so greatly for those who are most helpless even though they may offer the least hope. As I read this article, I was not so horrified by Trump’s lack of emotional scope as I was by a political process that so often forgets to do the triage that is its responsibility. Had the author’s last name been something other than Trump, would he have ever found his way to the White House; would there have been a fund to support his child?
I am not a eugenicist. I do not want to end the lives of the hapless. However, I do want us making decisions that make sense for society. Finding the balance should be the work of government, not getting meetings and working on “solutions” by affinity.